Beautiful artwork...

I noticed one reviewer gave this one a score of 1. Well, while I agree
that the story here isn't one of the best of the Disney shorts, it just
seemed wrong to give such a beautiful film a 1. In fact, I give the
film an 8 just because the quality of the animation and backgrounds is
just amazing--and better than most of the art in the full-length
cartoons of the day. The intricacy of the art with its fine details and
wonderful color palate are terrific and are hard to miss. It is truly
the apex of Disney's art.

As for the story, it's very simple. Donald, Mickey and Goofy run a
tugboat service and hear a distress call concerning a boat about to hit
the rocks. So, it's up to the boys to spring into action to save the
day. The problem is that they are stupid and have the darnedest time
just getting the boat going due to Goofy's and Donald's incompetence. A
little of this did go a long way, I admit, but the film is still
enjoyable from start to finish and I had a good time watching it. Plus,
compared to the insipid cartoons that were made by rival studios, it is
clearly a superior product. As for MGM and Looney Tunes, they were
still making mostly bland films--with their best stuff (such as the MGM
Tex Avery films and Bugs Bunny) not to appear for another 2-3 years.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

The last cartoon to feature Mickey, Donald and Goofy together

I have always enjoyed the cartoons with Mickey, Donald and Goofy
individually, and even more so together. While it is still a good,
solid cartoon, Tugboat Mickey is not one of their better outings. The
story is rather routine and reminded me a lot of The Whalers(the main
reason why the ending wasn't so much as a surprise) and especially
Clock Cleaners, and Mickey's re-design takes some getting used to
especially as Donald and Goofy are kept the same. However, there is
much to enjoy as Tugboat Mickey is beautifully animated especially in
the colourful backgrounds, and the music is very energetic. The gags
are familiar in a way, but they are still very funny especially with
Donald's temperament with the steam piston and Goofy's confusion as the
grate keeps closing on him. Mickey is not as funny but he is still
likable and all three characters are impeccably voiced as always.
Overall, a good cartoon if not one of the best. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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Fun short with the Big Three

Classic Disney short teaming Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Here
they are working on their tugboat when they receive an SOS call and
rush to help. As you might imagine, things never go smoothly when Goofy
and Donald are involved. Repeats some gags from earlier shorts with
these three but it's still fun. As was usually the case with Disney
from this era, the animation is gorgeous; nicely drawn with exciting
action and beautiful colors. Great voice work from Clarence Nash, Pinto
Colvig, and Walt Disney. It's a fun cartoon but not one that will
likely make the highlight reel for these characters. You can't go wrong
with classic Disney, though, so definitely give it a look.

Are We Sure That Uncle Walt's Vocal Talents Are Present.........?

TAKING ON YET another group team comic effort, the Disney Studios'
answer to the Brothers Marx & Ritz, as well as Laurel & Hardy, the
Stooges, etc.gives their best in team effort.

PERHAPS THIS COMBINATION of character concept was getting just a trifle
stale or maybe the creative talent was being allocated in a greater
proportional configuration to the animated features; like SNOW WHITE,
PINNOCHIO, BAMBI, DUMBO and FANTASIA.

OUTSIDE OF THE obvious buffoonery of the actions by the true supporting
characters of Donald & Goofy and the now much more straight laced
demeanor of the "Top Banana", Mickey; the big development was the
physical appearance of this anthropomorphic trio. This goes especially
for their facial construction and make up.

SOMETIME BETWEEN THE earlier short, BOAT BUILDERS and this maritime
outing, an editorial policy decreed that Mickey especially needed an
upgrade.

PRODUCTION ON WHAT was originally to be called "the Concert Feature"
had a segment starring Mr. Mouse in it called The Sorcerer's Apprentice
and the feature, now dubbed FANTASIA, showcased this more complex
countenance.

WE RECENTLY VIEWED this short along with BOAT BUILDERS on Turner
Classic Movies' FROM THE Disney VAULT Feature with Leonard Maltin.

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"Help, goodbye, we're sinking!"

Two years following their prior high seas adventure in "Boat Builders",
Mickey, Donald and Goofy team up once again in a similar tale, this
time aboard a ship, and roused to action when they hear a distressing
S.O.S. from the Steamship Gigantic, about to flounder on a dangerous
Rocky Reef. Goofy has to contend with an uncooperative coal furnace
door, while Donald Duck has a bit of trouble getting in gear himself.
Finally breaking free of the harbor, the trio come to realize that the
S.O.S. broadcast they heard could just as well have been intended for
themselves, as the intrepid sailors wind up in the drink. Excellent
animation and vibrant color highlight this quick seven minute film, and
Disney fans should find themselves well pleased.

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Misadventures at sea.

This is one of the Disney cartoons I first watched and grew up with. I
thought it was wildly entertaining and chaotically fun as we see
Mickey, Donald and Goofy try to get their tugboat in order so they
could go and see an allegedly singing ship. Obviously, nothing goes
accordingly to plan as Mickey has troubles with a seagull, Goofy tries
to get coal in the steamer and Donald grapples with the engine.

The animation is vibrant and has some very excellent sequences,
including the scenes where the tugboat is racing across the sea. When I
was a kid, I felt a little sorry for the three characters as their boat
***spoiler ahead*** blows up and never makes it to their destination.
It wasn't until years later that the supposedly SOS call was just a
radio station broadcasting an episode of a fictional show, so, that
would be feel better about the story's outcome. ***spoiler ends ***
It's great fun seeing the three characters together.

Three Sillies At Sea

TUGBOAT MICKEY, along with crewmen Donald Duck & Goofy,
attempts to rush to the rescue of a quickly sinking ship.

Here is another classic little film, with excellent animation
and
lots of good laughs. Many younger viewers may not understand
the final gag, what with all the changes in American popular
entertainment since 1940. Walt Disney provides Mickey with
his
squeaky voice; Clarence Nash does the honors for the Duck.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures
&
drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched
farm
animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver
in
France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on
the
sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist
Ub
Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that
provided
animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie
theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND
series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon
universe.
Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in
1923,
where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business
manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with
Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor,
the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination,
ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound
technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE
(1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of
synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared,
and
Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were
quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of
depth
and radical advancements in personality development, an arena
in
which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty
behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to
be
joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald
Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All
this
was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature
length
animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt
persevered and over the next decades delighted children of
all
ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo,
Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were
all
started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message
and
lots of hard work always pay off.

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3 out of 9 people found the following review useful:

Mindless Mickey.

A significant portion of this animated short shows Goofy trying to load up
some coal to be burned in order to get Mickey's tugboat moving. Meanwhile,
Donald struggles with a piece of machinery and Mickey stands around until
the boat gets moving. Wow...the comic genius involved is downright
mind-blowing!

I know I'm being a bit of a downer, but it is disappointing that Mickey and
his gang were always trying to cull laughter from idiocy instead of
cleverness. "Tugboat Mickey" continued to employ that strategy. It used
broad, uninvolving humor and the "surprise" ending was obvious from the
get-go. 1/10